Sorry it actually took me so long to post... the past few days have been kinda wacky for me as I have been recovering from surgery. I'll try to write down as much details as I can...
The days leading to the big day were kinda blurry to me -- I just remember being really damn busy at work. I had so much to finish up and projects just keep up popping up out of nowhere. I brought my laptop home over the Thanksgiving weekend and then every night thereafter. I worked until 10 or 11 at night and then just crashed sleeping with very tired eyes. The next day it was the same. On hindsight, this was probably best for me. Being super-duper busy at work helped keep my mind off the surgery. Not thinking about it helped reduce the anxiety and nervousness.
I needed to be at the hospital at 7:30am on Friday, December 1. My husband and I left the house around 6:30. Traffic was light and we got to Oakland Kaiser around 7:15am. I felt a bit nervous and anxious because my stomach felt pressured. But overall, I was relatively calm. My heart rate was normal and I don't remember having any panic attacks. We waited in this room for about 1/2 hour. Other patients are there, but it seemed like everyone has different surgeries to be done. One girl came in with her family and I knew that she would have the same surgery as me because she has a big lower jaw and she had braces on. They called me around 7:45 and made me sign some forms and gave me a wristband. We waited some more in the room. Then they called us into another private waiting room and I changed into one of those hospital gowns. I was cold so they gave me a warm blanket. More waiting and then another nurse came me to take me into another room for the IV. Like always, the nurse was unable to get through with one arm, so they had to do it the second time on the other arm. Although I'm not typically afraid of needles, the IV hurts. I wouldn have flipped if she couldn't get it in the 2nd time around. I went back to the same room after she was done and it was a little more waiting. Then another nurse came in with some pills and a cup of liquid that I need to take prior to surgery. There were 5 pills or so, all different sizes and color. The liquid was sour like Sweet Tarts but didn't really bother me as much, since I was so thristy and could use some fluids. Then the anethesiologist came in and gave us a low-down of the procedure including risks and what to expect. I asked about whether I will vomit afterwards and she said most likely I will, due to my body type and me being female. She left to get the surgery room ready and another 15 minutes passed. During this time, I was quite amazed at myself for being so calm. I don't even recall thinking about anything at all. I just know I need to do what I need to do. The anethesiologist came in and walked me through the halls. I said good bye to my husband. I went in the operating room and sat on the bed. The room was really cold but they warmed up the bed for me, as well as the blankets. It felt good. A couple of nurses came up and introduced themselves to me. I don't remember their names. The group took turns asking me what type of music I liked and where I worked, and what did my husband do... while hooking me up with the machines. I felt asleep afterwards....
I woke up in the recovery room. I don't know what time it was though... it must have been around noon. Nurses come by every so often to take my temperature, my pulse rate, and my blood pressure. I remember complaining about my sore throat. I have these ice packs around my cheeks and an oxygen mask on that made me feel really cold. Everytime I see a nurse or a different one, I complained about my sore throat. They just acknowledged it but do anything about it. The recovery room had quite a lot of people in there, not just medical personnel, but other patients. The guy next to me was talking really loudly so he must have some other surgery than the one I had! I felt very woozy and felt in and out of sleep. I couldn't sleep for long because nurses will come by and I was prepared to have them move me to my regular room. They finally did that around 2pm. I was wheeled up to the 8th floor. I got a private room, a small one, but private nevertheless. I again complained about my sore throat and motioned to the nurse that I wanted to take the oxygen mask off. But he said no, I can't. I finally saw my husband for the first time in the room post-surgery. He told me he spoke to the doctor and the surgery was very successful and lasted only 2 hours. Again, I was in and out of sleep. It's frustrating because I keep on waking up every 15 minutes. If I had been that sleepy, I should have sleep throughout but I didn't. I also worried that if I slept now, then how would I be able to sleep at night? But I couldn't help it all that much. I was drowsy. I think it was around 6pm when I finally felt less drowsy. I got up to use the restroom with help. I had a lot of secretions from my mouth, which had some blood in it. The secretions were basically very thick saliva. We finally were told about the catherer that can suck up all the saliva. This was the best thing ever. Too bad we couldn't take it home. I used the bathroom every 3-4 hours. Although I didn't drink anything, they had a lot of fluids going into my IV. They also injected a lot of medication through the IV, including antiabiotics, anti-flammatory, anti-swelling, and pain medications. They brought in some apple juice and jello for dinner and I drank some apple juice through a syringe. The apple juice gave me more saliva and mucus.
A couple of things that I was very grateful for: (1) I didn't vomit at all. I didn't even feel nausea which is really a blessing. I wouldn't know how to deal with it and knowing myself and my body, that was the one that I was fearful of, and (2), the nose congestation wasn't as bad. I was worried about that because if I can't breathe, I panic, which makes everything worse. Breathing through the mouth will be difficult. So for these 2 things, or the lack of them, kept me relatively stable. I slept and then woke up every hour on the hour. The nurses are again in and out of the room checking the vital signs and changing the ice packs. The night felt long because I keep on waking up and couldn't sleep much. I drank some more apple juice towards the morning. The nurse said I must be hydrated on my own before they can discharge me from the hospital.
I was discharged the next morning at 11am. My husband retrieved all my medications from the discharge pharmacy and drove me home. I don't remember much about the past 2 days just because it was pretty much the same. Woke up, ate, watched TV, went online, watched TV, ate, etc. The swelling hasn't really gone down yet. The pain is somewhat gone today because I didn't feel the need to take Tylenol during the day. I take it at night to help with the sleeping. Nasal congestion is still a problem. I can breathe through my noses for the most part, but there are times when I get a little bit congested and then I panic. I take very deep breaths, but it doesn't seem to help. The nasal sprays then come in handy. Food intake is still a problem for me. I don't think I have enough proteins and nutrients. I drink a lot of soups, but I'm not sure what they all equate to, in terms of nutruitional value. Today is Tuesday, and my 4th day since the surgery. I think I might be considered one of the lucky few. It hasn't been all that bad. There are problems here and there, but at least I can do most of the stuff by now. I took a shower yesterday and it felt good and refreshing. Right now, I need to start walking more, but I'm still afraid of breathing problems.
I think I'll be pleased with my results eventually...although it's hard to tell right now because my face is so swollen. My profile, for one, is night and day. My face is a lot shorter now than before. I had a pretty long face before. So I look different. Very different. The first time I looked into the mirror post-surgery, I didn't really recognize myself! So for me, it was dramatic, and that was what the doctor told me. The change is instantaneous. Years of braces wouldn't have nearly produced these same results, even impossible. So I'm glad I did this. I just can't wait until all the recovery is done, so I can at least "enjoy" the benefits. I still have about 6-9 months of braces, so I'm not completely done yet....
